Pastel, The Namer of Things
Allow me to introduce you to the smartest bird in my little flock: the illustrious, ambitious, killer-shark Pastel. She's the girl with the need to succeed. Since the day she hatched she had the drive, as some small puppies do, to rise to be the Alpha Bird. She competed fiercely for that position even with her brother, Cal, and lost it only to him because in the world of turkeys it's brawn over brains. If turkey success were driven by the latter, however, Pastel would have it in the bag.
Hens, naturally, are smaller and weaker than toms. But they're also smarter. Not being a tom was a bitter pill for Pastel to swallow. She so dearly wanted to lead with brute force. But she's made the best of being a hen. She has totally dominated the bird she can out muscle and outsmarts the rest. The others acknowledge and respect that. She may not be able to boss anyone but Ami around, but she alone holds sole naming rights of any new object the flock encounters.
That hawk up there? It's called a "Cuk-cuk". The airplane is a "Woo-hoohoo-wok" Why? Because Pastel said so. The first time she saw a bird flying in the sky she looked up and made the alert noise. The others stopped what they were doing and made noises for alarm and confusion. Pastel alone kept her cool. She made eye contact with me. She said "cuk-cuk", a noise I hadn't heard before. She looked up at the bird and made the noise again. Then she looked at me to be sure I understood. She did the same for every other member of the flock, and was satisfied only after they each looked up at the flying bird and said "cuk-cuk".
She named ants, grass, and pebbles too.
Today, she invented the turkey word for "wind". It was blowing pretty hard outside. She walked to the door of her enclosure, looked out, saw the grass and trees bending in the howling wind, and declared it a "Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh-woo."
She's quite creative. Unlike human onomatopoeias, her new words aren't mimicry of any sort. As far as I can tell, she comes up with these sounds out of thin air. I never hear these sounds until Pastel encounters something new. And I've not heard any sound like them from turkey recordings I've heard online. After she teaches everyone else what she has named the New Thing, the next time the flock encounters it, everyone calls it that. Thus, Pastel is the All-Wise Namer of Things.
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| This is her "doll face". Don't be fooled. She can still lunge at ya like a snake. |
Hens, naturally, are smaller and weaker than toms. But they're also smarter. Not being a tom was a bitter pill for Pastel to swallow. She so dearly wanted to lead with brute force. But she's made the best of being a hen. She has totally dominated the bird she can out muscle and outsmarts the rest. The others acknowledge and respect that. She may not be able to boss anyone but Ami around, but she alone holds sole naming rights of any new object the flock encounters.
That hawk up there? It's called a "Cuk-cuk". The airplane is a "Woo-hoohoo-wok" Why? Because Pastel said so. The first time she saw a bird flying in the sky she looked up and made the alert noise. The others stopped what they were doing and made noises for alarm and confusion. Pastel alone kept her cool. She made eye contact with me. She said "cuk-cuk", a noise I hadn't heard before. She looked up at the bird and made the noise again. Then she looked at me to be sure I understood. She did the same for every other member of the flock, and was satisfied only after they each looked up at the flying bird and said "cuk-cuk".
She named ants, grass, and pebbles too.
Today, she invented the turkey word for "wind". It was blowing pretty hard outside. She walked to the door of her enclosure, looked out, saw the grass and trees bending in the howling wind, and declared it a "Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh-woo."
She's quite creative. Unlike human onomatopoeias, her new words aren't mimicry of any sort. As far as I can tell, she comes up with these sounds out of thin air. I never hear these sounds until Pastel encounters something new. And I've not heard any sound like them from turkey recordings I've heard online. After she teaches everyone else what she has named the New Thing, the next time the flock encounters it, everyone calls it that. Thus, Pastel is the All-Wise Namer of Things.
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